It's been a little while since I did a foodie blog and as today I've been somewhat of a domestic goddess I thought I'd put that right.
Today I made a cake. Not just any old cake but a cake from the new book by "The Great British Bake Off" winner Jo Wheatley "A Passion for Baking". I'd treated myself to the book last week but hadn't got round to looking at it properly yet. As I had three over ripe bananas in my fruit bowl goading me into doing something with them, other than throwing them away, I went in search of a recipe for Banana loaf.
And here it is
Me being me I mucked about with the recipe a bit as my cupboards dictated. I used golden caster sugar instead of demerara and dark soft brown sugar instead of light. I didn't have any pecans so I just left them out and I put the cinnamon in the mixture rather than sprinkle it on top.
But the results were great. The boy devoured a whole piece at tea time and has been hyper on the slow release energy of bananas and a tonne of sugar ever since. He's been bouncing off the walls like Tigger and is currently in bed and, from what I can gather, is narrating to bear, bunny and monkey entire episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine.
Ahh at least he's happy!
I tweeted about my success and the lovely Jo re-tweeted it and then sent me a message back.
I got a bit star struck as I do in these matters. Well she's off the telly from a programme I really like and her book is great.
I know I'm lame! What can you do?
Jo Wheatley tweeting me back also meant I was only one degree of separation away from one of the hosts of "The Great British Bake Off", Mr Paul Hollywood.
Lemon Cake Lady and I have complete and utter teenage style crushes on "the Silver Fox"!
All you have to do is mention whipping up icing with your hand to LCL and she melts into a puddle on the floor.
Clementine has suggested I apply for The Great British Bake Off as a contestant. I'd be hopeless. Yes I can bake. A bit. But not to the standard they require and also I'd be a gibbering wreck. All it would take would be for Paul Hollywood to announce that the technical bake was iced fingers and I'd be a goner!
Although it might be worth it to go on and say my signature bake was chocolate rice crispy cakes and just see how Paul and Mary Berry coped without laughing or chucking me out the tent?
Instead I am taking Lemon Cake Lady to the Good Food show in November for her birthday present. I have booked the tickets with Gold seats for the food theatre on Friday to see Mary Berry and the afore mentioned Silver Fox Mr Paul Hollywood doing The Great British Bake Off LIVE!
Yes LIVE!
We'll be within touching distance!
Well row D, which is certainly within icing flicking distance should his hands get too over enthusiastic whilst whipping up a batch.
To say we're excited is an understatement. We are grown women. With husbands. And children! Yet we are giggling wrecks. Like teenagers with a crush on the teacher.
Lets just hope we don't muck about so much we get detention.....
When it comes to social media I've always been a bit of a Facebook girl.
Up until now!
In the last few days I've been swayed by the power of Twitter. I only set up an account to promote the blog initially but "Clementine", (the last of the boy's Fairy Godmother's to get her own blog name), persuaded me that it "kicks Facebook's arse" and I should start following other bloggers and people in the media.
Only trouble is I can't use it!
It took me a week to find the hash key!
In my defence the hash key on my keyboard gave me a pound sign and the pound sign gave me a dash and so on! Nothing was where it was supposed to be. This wouldn't be quite so laughable if it weren't for the fact that I used to work in IT!
No wonder they made me redundant!
Twitter is fast moving and as upfront or anonymous as you want it to be. You can follow anyone without having to wait for them to accept you as a friend, including famous people!
A couple of days ago, I replied to a tweet from the amazing Beverley Knight about her tour dates. To my surprise and sheer delight she tweeted me back. I'm such a big fan that I was thrilled and a bit giddy that she'd answered!
I'm easily pleased, me!
Buoyed and brave from my Twitter success I replied to a tweet from one of my favourite actors, Neil Fitzmaurice, who's currently playing naughty boy Fergus in Mount Pleasant on Sky 1.
He answered too!
I was proper star struck. So I tweeted to my followers (all 43 of them - but everyone precious) the following:
"I'm on a roll with this famous person lark. Neil Fitzmaurice has tweeted me back now. I've gone all hot and giggly."
Only trouble was I'd copied his twitter name in!
So he saw it!!!
Told you I didn't know what I was doing!
Because he is an absolute top bloke with a wicked sense of humour he saw the funny side and we ended up having a little twitter chat. Which only served to prolong the flush in my cheeks and the girlie giggling!
When I explained it all to hubby later, he asked why?
"Well, he's on my list isn't he!"
"What list?" hubby queried
"You know.... "the list"! The list of famous people were allowed to.... you know"
Hubby finally cottoned on.
"Oh "that" list! What him? Ray Von from Phoenix Nights?"
"Well he doesn't look like that all the time" I said justifying my choice of celebrity crush.
"Who else is on your "list" then?"
"Paul Hollywood, Philip Glenister, Phil Mickelson and .... ummmm.... Fireman Sam!"
"Fireman Sam!" hubby spluttered " You know he's not real don't you?"
"I like his voice" I muttered sheepishly.
"He's Welsh. You can't stand the Welsh! God you like some weird people"
I daren't tell him about Lord Tumble from Something Special and Captain Barnacles from Octonauts, he'd divorce me on the grounds of deviancy with cartoon characters.
"Who have you got then?" I asked him
"Sophie Raworth, Kerry from CBeebies, Sue Perkins and Rachel Weisz." rattling off the names a tad too quickly for my liking.
"What? I'll give you the news reader but the rest...." I exclaim.
"What's wrong with them?"
"Well nothing, apart from one's only got one arm, one's a lesbian and the last one's gorgeous and married to James Bond. Best of luck with that!"
There followed that silence that only 12 years of marriage can create and then instantly dismiss with laughter.
We decided we watch too much children's TV.
And that I shouldn't go on anymore social media networking sites.
Well, not at least until I've learnt how to use them.... oops!
